PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Sometimes, you just have one of those nights that completely defies explanation. Kevin Ollie experienced one Thursday night.

"Guys, I don't know what to tell you," the first-year UConn coach said in the bowels of the Dunkin' Donuts Center. "I really love the fact we had more points than Providence."

Among the measurables, those things etched in concrete numbers, that's about the only category in which UConn bested the Friars. Once again, this group proved that it is those things that can't be measured that UConn has in spades.

Despite themselves, or maybe even in spite of themselves, the Huskies took an 82-79 overtime victory over the Friars before a crowd of 10,180.

The Huskies were obliterated on the backboards, 55-24, tying the Big East record for largest rebounding margin in a game. UConn was outscored by 13 points at the free throw line. When the game ended, the tallest Husky on the floor was 6-foot-7 Niels Giffey.

And the Huskies still won. On the road. In a place they hadn't won since 2006.

Somehow.

"We just had to find a way to win," said UConn guard Ryan Boatright, who led the Huskies with 19 points and seven assists. "Coach has been preaching it all year, when the fight breaks out we have to hit first and then figure out a way to stay on our feet."

The Huskies (14-5, 4-3 Big East) managed to not even wobble despite throwing an early knockout punch that was so quickly deflected it would have completely deflated many

See UCONN, Page 5C

teams.

UConn raced out to a 25-10 lead. It couldn't miss a shot and Providence (10-11, 2-7) couldn't make one. Just as quickly as the lead bulged, it disappeared. By halftime, the Huskies clung to a 33-32 advantage that they were lucky to have considering the way they were getting annihilated on the backboards, which caused them to play defense for incredibly long stretches.

The Friars threw the first punches of the second half, UConn stayed on its feet, the lead changing hands 12 times in the second half, and the entire building was stunned was stunned when the game went to overtime. It had almost no business being in overtime.

In the extra session, freshman Omar Calhoun (13 points) drilled a 3-pointer with 41.7 seconds left to give UConn the lead for good. By then the Huskies were without Tyler Olander and Enosch Wolf, both of whom fouled out. Seconds later, they were without DeAndre Daniels (18 points) thanks to five fouls.

The numbers tell nothing of the story. Better to let Ollie tell it. He has a far better handle on it than anybody.

"I always tell the guys to push to the second mile because there's not a lot of traffic on the second mile," Ollie said. "They pushed and pushed and pushed and we came out victorious. That's the team I want to coach, right there.

"We found a way to overcome and that's the story."

Providence helped a bit, of course. It had 28 offensive rebounds — not a misprint — but converted those into just 18 points. The Friars had possible minimum of 56 points off those rebounds and scored less than one-third of that. It surely helped that UConn shot a blistering 50 percent for the game and the Friars shot just 33.8 percent.

None of that really explains just how UConn managed to win the game, however. It saw a 15-point lead on the road slip away in a hurry. It saw its only three big men foul out of the game. It saw the Friars throw every last ounce of energy they had at the Huskies.

And the team that is going nowhere after March 9 still ripped a victory from a game that by all rights had Providence victory written all over it.

"We just keep our composure and make sure we always stay together," said guard Shabazz Napier, who scored 13 of his 18 points in the second half and overtime. "We make sure we always have each other's backs.

"Last year, we would have packed our bags and gone home. This year, we keep our composure."

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